North West Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre Special Educational Needs Information Report September 2016 1. What kinds of special educational needs do we provide for in our school? The North West Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre (NWSILC) is a community maintained 2-19 generic special school. Our setting enables us to meet the needs of children with moderate, severe and complex learning difficulties. Many of our pupils have communication needs; including autism, physical difficulties, and multi-sensory impairment. 2. How do we know if your child needs extra help? Every pupil has a Statement of Special Educational Need or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). These are reviewed annually and in consultation with parent/carers and the pupil themselves. In addition, pupils are constantly observed and progress assessed. Every pupil has an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) which is developed in consultation with parents/carers, the pupil and, the wide range of professionals to ensure learning is geared to what is important for the individual pupil. It is also informed by the outcomes identified in the pupils EHC Plan. Pupils are assessed against their own prior learning. Meetings to discuss the ILP and the progress a pupil is making are held three times a year with parents /carers teachers and senior leaders. Other professionals are consulted about the progress the pupil is making. This could include Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and other external agencies to ensure barriers to learning are identified. 3. How we consult with young people with special educational needs and involve them in their education. All pupils will have a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an EHCP and will be encouraged to attend their annual review to listen to how well they have achieved and to discuss and share what their next targets should be. Your child s views and aspirations along with your own and those of school will be considered so that collectively we have work together to help them achieve. Three times a year targets are set through the Individual Learning Pathway Plans. These are written in consultation with the pupil and parent/carer. These targets are then reviewed mid-term and progress discussed with the pupil. Where possible we encourage our pupils to self-review their progress. During each lesson the teacher will be setting lesson objectives and targets in partnership with each pupil. The teacher and learning support staff will be continually engaging your child throughout the lesson, monitoring their progress and, providing individual support where needed to ensure they enjoy their education. Our overall aim is to prepare our pupils for the next stages of education and ultimately adult life.
4. How we help you to support your children s learning. We hold coffee mornings each half term where you can listen to a range of speakers who will offer support and advice and, meet other parents for coffee to share and learn from each other s experiences. We hold a Christmas Fair (Saturday 10 th December), and a range of activities around Christmas time including a Christmas play at our Penny Field and Green Meadows sites (13 th & 14 th December respectively). There is a Christmas Carol service at St Oswalds, Guiseley (16 th December). Many other events also take place throughout the year such as the Summer production, to which you are warmly invited. We keep you informed of your child s progress through the Annual Review, Annual Reports and by sharing the ILP targets through the structured conversation. We also write to you in homeschool diaries where these are appropriate. We will also ring you if needed and we hope you will keep in touch with us that way as well. The pupils are involved in the running of the school through the school council which meets half termly. They are also involved in setting and discussing their own targets where appropriate as described earlier. 5. How we know what progress your children are making and how we keep you and them informed. In the first term of each year we hold a structured conversation with you where we discuss the ILP and targets for your child for the coming year. We hold another meeting at the end of the academic year to review your child s progress, the ILP and discuss next steps. You are also strongly encouraged to contribute to and attend your child s EHCP conversion or annual review meeting. In addition, parents/carers are invited to contribute to the termly review of the Individual Learning Plan to share how they feel their child has made progress towards their targets and, to help shape what the next terms targets should be. 6. How we have supported young people with SEN and adapted teaching to best support them. The NWSILC has a curriculum map that includes three main pathways. Within this each pupil has differentiated learning and planning to meet their specific needs. The staffing ratio is approximately 1:2/1:3 pupils. Pupils may be taught 1:1, in small groups or whole class depending upon the activity. All planning, both medium term and short term is highly differentiated within each class. Our classes have a teacher and up to 3 learning support assistants sometimes more. School staff are supported by Speech and Language therapists, Physiotherapists, Occupational therapists, the school nursing team and specialist teachers/advisors where and when appropriate. We use a range of strategies to enhance teaching and learning and this includes specifically adapting the curriculum to meet a range of needs such as communication, sensory, complex physical and medical needs.
7. How have decisions been made to adapt the curriculum or change the learning environment to best meet your children s needs? Our aim is to provide a curriculum that is relevant and broadly balanced and helps pupils to become functionally literate, numerate, communicative and as independent as possible in an environment that promotes positive and innovative learning opportunities and, a thirst to learn. Your child will initially have their needs identified through their statement or EHCP. We constantly review this and using our expertise and experience will identify when and where additional support may be needed. 8. How are staff in the school supported to work with young people with special educational needs and what training do they receive? Continual Professional Development (CPD) is at the heart of our work at the NWSILC. All our teachers are qualified and have undertaken specialist further professional development. This includes Autism specific training, Behaviour, Makaton, training in sensory difficulties, training in hearing, visually and physical impairments. We take the professional development of our staff very seriously recognising that a high quality workforce is essential in delivering outstanding learning opportunities for our pupils. Our teaching assistants also have a range of expertise and take part in whole school training. Some of them are trained specifically by the nursing team to administer tube feeds or medication. Others are trained in moving and handling, personal care or other specific learning interventions. This is not an exclusive list and as has already been mentioned ongoing professional development is key to ensuring staff of all categories remain updated and skilled. 9. When we have needed expert advice and support how have we secured that and what services have they provided? Your child will have a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an EHCP which will specify any additional requirements. The statement/ehcp is a statutory document which means that the school must carry out or provide everything identified on the plan. To this aim we work closely with the following to support your child s needs. All Therapy services including Speech and Language therapy, Physiotherapy and Occupational therapy. SILC Cluster, specialist services including Hearing and Visually Impairment, the Educational Psychology services, CAMHS, Social Care and the in-house nursing team. 10. How we check how well we are doing in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND. We have a system of reviewing our provision each term using the Ofsted framework for selfevaluation. This includes looking at: The effectiveness of leadership and management Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Personal development, behaviour and welfare
Outcomes for pupils Our Interim Executive Board (IEB) are involved in the process and receive regular reports through the half termly IEB meetings. Any interventions such as Intensive Interaction and additional funding such as Pupil Premium are identified and tracked to ensure the impact is effective. We monitor the quality of teaching at least three times a year and engage in an external review arranged by the local authority which we welcome as a means of ensuring our practice remains outstanding. 11. How we ensure that your children are included in activities outside the classroom, including physical activities and school trips. We acknowledge that the physical and creative activities are an essential part of the development of our pupils and encompass a range of social and leisure opportunities. At the NWSILC every child has the opportunity to access a wide range of school activities including some residential opportunities. Provision is highly differentiated and if for example an activity is not deemed appropriate alternative activities are organised. No child is excluded from activities at the NWSILC. We have a differentiated range of activities to maximise inclusion across the SILC. These include: Horse Riding, Sailing, Out and About in the Community including the local library and places of interest, to name a few. 12. How we provide for your children s overall wellbeing We demonstrate our commitment to pupil well-being through our achievement in Healthy Schools status, our School Games Gold award and we are a UNICEF Rights Respecting School. The opinion of your child is valued and taken into consideration through School Council meetings. We have a comprehensive safeguarding policy and protocol in place. All staff access annual update training in working with children and vulnerable young people using the Guidance for Safer Working Practice for People who Work with all Children and Adults at Risk. All new staff receive induction training which includes safeguarding training. Pupils health and well-being is paramount. Personal Care is conducted discreetly and with dignity and fostering independence whenever possible. We work closely with the in-house medical team if your child has a health need and between us will discuss with you a Health Care Plan and administration of prescribed medication. We also work closely with disabilities teams to ensure the holistic needs of your child are met. Within school we have staff trained in emotional literacy, the SCERTS framework, sensory integration, intensive interaction and the Motor Activity Training Programme (MATP) to name but a few of the approaches we use.
We also work very closely with colleagues from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) if your child needs that level of support. 13. How accessible is our school both indoors and outdoors for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (our accessibility plan/policy)? Our school is fully accessible with dedicated disabled parking bays and toileting facilities. We have ramp and lifts and overhead hoists. We have changing facilities for children and young people who require adult support. 14. What are our admission arrangements for young people who are disabled, how do we prepare and support your children when joining the school and moving on from the school? All pupils will have a Statement of Special Educational Need or an Education, Health and Care Plan or, will be under assessment. We will enhance this with social stories and extra visits if necessary. We offer a personalised transition relevant to the child s needs. All transitions are supported with a detailed plan documenting relevant information about your child. Where necessary we will support this with social stories, visuals or extra visits if necessary. When the time comes for your child to move on we will liaise with the receiving school or college and follow their transition process and again will personalise this depending on need. Who can you contact for further information? If you require further information you should contact the main school office and speak to any of the following: Lynn McCrum & Kath Burrell, Pastoral Managers Rob Arrowsmith, Acting Principal Diane Reynard, Executive Principal. 16. What are our arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with SEND about our provision? In the first instance, we encourage you to contact your child s class teacher. If you still have concerns then please contact either the Executive Principal, Diane Reynard or the Acting Principal, Rob Arrowsmith. In the unlikely event that your concern is not resolved then please contact the Chair of our Interim Executive Board, Mr Roger Cannon. Ultimately parents/carers have recourse to the Secretary of State for Education if the situation still cannot be resolved. Further information on our complaints procedure can be found on the school s website.